Things Worth Saying
by ohcosima
Summary: Lexa didn't actually expect Clarke to swing by, but maybe she miscalculated. Also, Murphy is a serial meddler and Anya has just had enough of everyone. Set after TWM. There are gonna be appearances by various characters!
1. Chapter 1

Lexa was sitting in a corner, bored out of her mind, when she saw her get in. The diner was almost empty, it being quite late, and she whipped her head as soon as she heard the bell of the door ring.

She was alone, carrying a huge bag from which a couple of paintbrushes peeped out. She was slightly disheveled, but that could have been the layers she was wearing making her seem messy. It was fairly cool outside, especially during these hours.

Lexa knew she had been staring the moment Clarke started scanning the room, presumably to find Lexa. Lexa, who on her behalf had excused herself, turned away and started walking towards the kitchen at a rather fast pace.

When she entered and leaned against the sink, Anya squinted her eyes at her. "What are you doing?"

"No, nothing. Ignore me." She said, looking at the ground.

Anya rolled her eyes. "If you don't get back Quint is gonna think you are doing nothing and he's gonna tell Indra. He already hates you so if you don't have a valid reason, I suggest you go back."

"I'm gonna kill Quint." She muttered, "Just a minute, I swear."

Anya clicked her tongue, starting to clean up the dirty plates. "I warned you."

After a solid three minutes in which Lexa hadn't moved, Anya was starting to worry she had stopped breathing, so while doing the dishes, she addressed Lexa. "What's happening?"

Lexa answered slowly. "Nothing."

"Cut the bullshit," Anya sighed annoyed. When Lexa said 'nothing', a shitstorm was about to happen.

When Lexa remained silent, she prodded her. "Come on, Lexa. It is now or I'm never listening to your sad bullshit ever again."

"She came." She absently answered.

"Who?"

"The girl. You know, the one on the bus."

Anya almost dropped a plate while turning to look at Lexa. The brunette fixated her gaze on the admittedly interesting floor (it was a patchwork of different and horribly arranged tiles), her eyes seemingly devoid of any emotion.

Anya was more than a little surprised that Lexa had finally found the courage to talk to her. "Why is she here?"

Lexa frowned, "It's a diner, Anya."

This time, Anya put down the glass she was cleaning. "So you mean to tell me that she casually stumbled in this godforsaken place where you work because she, living in this _oh so small_ city of TonDC, couldn't find one nearer her house? Yeah, and I'm gonna believe you." She stopped, "Or do you actually believe this? I mean— you actually think she just found this place randomly? Because that's just pure madness."

"Ok, I may have told her I'd have liked it if she showed up, but I didn't think she would have?"

"And what are you doing?!" Anya hissed, "Go and take her order!"

Lexa gaped, "Ok, ok, just…"

"Go!" Anya gestured with a dirty spatula in her hand, "And give her you number this time!"

Lexa almost stumbled outside and she immediately had to take action, because she saw Murphy approaching her table. She looked between Clarke and Murphy, both of them hadn't seen her; she sprinted towards Murphy, gripping on his forearm so tightly he winced.

"The fuck, Lexa?" he growled when he turned around.

"Sorry," she whispered "I'm gonna take that table."

Murphy raised his eyebrow, "Is everything ok? Not that I care,"

"Yes,"

"Then let go of my arm." He said, perplexed.

She realized she had still a tight hold on his forearm, so she released it, smiling apologetically. As he walked away, huffing and muttering a string of insults, she took a deep breath and turned around.

Clarke was already smiling at her, and Lexa winced internally thinking she had probably seen the whole scene.

She walked over, keeping the most unaffected expression she could manage. She was about to give her the routine treatment, when Clarke spoke.

"Hey there." She shifted in her seat, smiling confidently at Lexa.

Her plan flew out of the metaphorical window as her lips moved on their own accord and a grin tried to grow on her face. She tried repressing it, resulting in a slight twitch of the side of her mouth. "You came," was all she could say.

"How could I not? It's a diner, and I'm dying to get that 'tired artist who eats by herself in a cute retro place' aesthetic."

This time Lexa laughed openly, mentally sending to hell her common sense. "You're getting there. What can I bring you?"

"I don't know," Clarke assumed a pensive expression, "What would you take?"

"Oh, well. Any kind of pie here is awesome."

"Then pie it is." Clarke declared cheerfully while scanning the menu. "Cherry pie?"

Lexa smiled, noting it, "On its way."

From afar, Murphy observed the two of them. "Lexa has a crush." He whispered to Mbege.

Mbege, occupied with disposing cupcakes on their shelf, looked at him with a frown. "On who?"

"Look for yourself." He answered, vaguely pointing in Lexa's general direction.

Mbege's scowl deepened, "No way."

"I knew she was gay." Murphy bragged with a cocky smirk.

"You don't know, jackass. Plus didn't she have a thing for Gus?"

"Please, she always told him what a wonderful friend he was. _He_ had a thing for her, maybe. But Lexa is as straight as a curve."

Mbege shrugged, "She could be bi or whatever, don't put her in a box."

Murphy raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Are you even hearing yourself, Mbege? She doesn't even _look_ at guys."

"Yeah, that's your job. But listen," he continued, finishing aligning the cupcakes and cleaning his hands, "First of all, that's her business. Secondly, stop gossiping about your own sister, it's idiotic." Murphy snorted, "third of all, enough with the gay guru shit. Go see if Nyko needs anything else."

Murphy clicked his tongue, "Yeah, all the four clients we have must be hard to manage. Including the one who's feeding on Lexa's sole presence. Look at her, she's ridiculous."

Clarke was eating her pie, looking at Lexa almost the whole time. She wasn't even trying to distract Lexa in any way, also because Lexa looked anywhere but in her direction.

Mbege settled near Murphy, indeed noticing a blonde girl making puppy eyes at a suddenly rather clumsy Lexa.

"Anyway, honestly," Murphy continued, "I kinda care for her. Foster siblings sticking up for each other and shit, you know? I might need her someday. And I've heard her talking about this girl at least a billion times this week, it's pretty annoying after a while."

Mbege sneered, "And here I thought you were showing positive emotions."

"Ew." Murphy grimaced, glancing one last time at Lexa's potential new girlfriend before getting up.

Clarke, in the meantime, was having a serious internal struggle. Lexa had barely interacted with her, mostly just quick glances from afar and sweet smiles. Clarke knew she had to do the next move, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she had read the signs wrongly.

Maybe Lexa didn't want it after all, she was a stranger on a bus with whom she talked a bit. And flirted, kind of. Towards the end.

She had finished her pie, waiting for Lexa to come back. She planned what to do next. She would ask Lexa if she wanted to go out sometimes, it didn't have to be a big deal. Just to have fun, enjoy themselves.

"Here's the bill." A stranger voice startled her from her thoughts. She looked up, seeing a young man with an apathetic expression looking at her.

"Um,"

"I knew you were expecting Lexa," he smirked, "I'm gonna be quick. Lexa is emotionally constipated so she's not gonna ask you out. Ever. Now that's what you are gonna do," he began.

"I plan to." Clarke blurted out, a bit annoyed at the guy's tone.

Murphy tilted his head, amused. "Oh. Well, that was easy." His smirk grew bigger, fueled by satisfaction.

She stared as he left, dumbfounded. But as she was leaving the money and a big tip on the table, and getting up to wait for Lexa, another voice startled her (twice in ten minutes, and she wasn't trying to beat a record).

"Clarke. I see you already paid."

"Oh, a waiter came by and…" she gestured at the table, where the bill and the money laid.

Lexa frowned in confusion, but after a second her gaze turned murderous, if Clarke read it correctly, and she asked, "Could you please describe him?"

"Longish hair. They were braided, I think? Blue eyes. He told me you are emotionally constipated."

Lexa breathed, closing her eyes. "Please ignore whatever he has told you. I'm gonna kill him later."

"Actually," Clarke began, not sure of how to put it into words. "He told me to ask you out."

Lexa froze immediately, heat rising to her cheeks. "I— I'm sorry."

Clarke made her best to not let the disappointment show on her face. "Oh. No, nothing at all."

"He just," Lexa sighed, "He just has a habit of making people uncomfortable, I hate when he does it. He has to understand that not every girl who smiles at me wants to date me."

"I'm not uncomfortable, I swear." Clarke smiled, fairly amused by the situation. "Well, but what if that's the case?" she added.

"I— um, are you really…?"

Lexa's stuttering made Clarke giggle, "If you don't want to, it's ok."

Lexa's eyes widened and she inhaled, "No, no. That's— I'd like to. Yeah."

Clarke smiled broadly, "That's awesome," Clarke began, but before she could go on, Lexa interrupted her.

"You're gonna need my number, though." Lexa reached for her arm, raising up her sleeve just enough to bare half her forearm. The numbers were promptly followed by a big L for Lexa that made Clarke smile.

She kissed Lexa on her cheek, "I'll call you," she whispered.

When Clarke finally closed the door behind her, waving Lexa goodbye one last time, Lexa finally released her breath.

"Hey, psst. Anya."

"Murphy."

"Did you see Lexa?"

Anya raised her eyebrow. "No, I was working. Unlike several people here, apparently."

Murphy shook his head, "Whatever. Listen, she has the most fucking idiotic crush on a blondie that—"

"I know."

" _Fantastic_ , what do you wanna do about it?"

"… Mind my own business?"

Murphy clicked his tongue, "That's not the spirit, come on."

"Murphy, why do you always have to be a pain in the ass?"

Murphy knit his eyebrows angrily, "Fine." He left the kitchen and stomped his way back to Mbege.

"Where are you going?" Murphy asked, laying upside down on the couch.

"Out."

"With who?"

"A friend." Lexa said, searching for her favorite scarf.

"That's the second time you see a friend outside the bus," he noted with a smirk.

Lexa turned, considering just smothering him with a pillow. "Why don't you find yourself a friend too?"

Murphy scowled, "I have Mbege."

"You know what I mean. A _friend_."

Grimacing, he adjusted himself more comfortably, "I'm just fine on my own. I don't need nobody."

"If that floats your fancy."

"Anyway," Murphy continued, deciding to ignore his sister's weird expressions, "Is she a _friend_ to you?"

"Too soon to say." She found the scarf, conveniently stuffed at the end of the last drawer.

"But you like her,"

"She's nice."

Murphy smirked. While he wasn't exactly a fan of emotional rants, his sister could be impossibly stoic at times. Her expression was unreadable most of the time and she always pondered for ages before showing her emotions. So this admission wasn't to be taken lightly, and Murphy was more than a little surprised that she had managed to admit to herself she liked a girl she had known for two weeks tops.

While he thought about it, Lexa had already left, throwing a 'see you later' as she closed the door behind her.

Now, the only thing that was stopping him from making Lexa take a step forward was finding an accomplice. He was mentally scanning all of his close friends, ruling out almost everyone because of different reasons. Frustrated after coming empty-handed, he sighed heavily, changing position on the sofa and adjusting himself on a pillow. He was already accepting that nobody would help him and that he'd have to do it alone, but as he heard a knock at the front door and a muffled, "John, it's me. Help me with the grocery bags!" he knew the person he didn't consider was the most obvious choice.


	2. Chapter 2

"It took you ages to come down," Clarke exclaimed as Lexa climbed in the passenger seat of her car with her backpack in her hands.

"Sorry, couldn't find the scarf." She muttered while trying to put a very resilient seatbelt on.

Clarke laughed and attempted to help her, but Lexa smacked her hand away. When she finally managed Clarke had already started the car, driving out the parking lot of her condo. "So, where are we going?"

"Oh, it's nothing special, but you will like it." Clarke smiled, keeping her eyes on the road. She glanced only briefly, noticing Lexa had put eye-liner, which she told her she usually didn't because she had to take it off before work. She found it nice, it highlighted her already big eyes.

Her eyes landed on the backpack, lingering for a second on the glaring red letters of Lexa's name yet again. Then, as she turned to the left, Lexa's building disappearing in the distance once and for all, she reminded the two letters. L + C. She wanted to ask if she already had someone, if Clarke had misunderstood it all.

"Come on, I hate surprises."

"I already told you all you need to know."

Lexa rolled her eyes, but her annoyance was quickly taken over by interest. "You just told me it will be at a theatre! That's not helpful." She protested, "Come on, just a clue. A tiny little one."

Clarke fought off a grin, determined not to give in. "Ask me a question and I'll answer it."

Lexa began weighing her options immediately, "Is it… does it need a reservation?"

"Nope."

"Ok. Then it's not opera."

Clarke laughed, "Do you think I would go to opera dressed like this?" she said, signifying her high-heeled boots, skinny jeans and rather plain turtleneck sweater.

Lexa scoffed, but she had to admit it was rather strange going to opera in casual clothes, so she found herself biting her lip to contain a smile, "Shut up. You never know, life is this random succession of weird events, one moment—" she was interrupted by Clarke's laughter, which she quickly joined. "No seriously, I didn't think you were taking me to see opera."

"Do you like that sort of thing?" Clarke asked, curious about what Lexa did in her spare time.

"I used to play cello," Lexa shrugged, "I listened to quite a lot of classical music. Whatever my teacher threw at me, pretty much. I miss it a bit, sometimes."

Clarke nodded. Lexa didn't strike her as the musical type, but she could quite picture it. Lexa engrossed in an exercise, repeating difficult passages over and over again until they were perfect. Or maybe closing her eyes she played a deep, rumbling sound, feeling it in her bones.

Scratch that, Lexa must surely have been something to see while she played. "Why did you quit?"

"Got lazy. School, work…" Lexa hoped she sounded casual enough about it, not wanting to explain for the millionth time all the reasons that made her quit.

"But you liked it?"

"Yeah," she confirmed.

"You should play something for me, if you think you can. I'd like it."

"I can consider it," Lexa allowed, shrugging. The car stopped, and Lexa realized they were arrived. She looked outside, seeing they had parked in front of an old theatre which had been closed for at least the last five years. Frowning, she turned to ask Clarke about it.

Clarke was looking at her with a warm smile, "Come on."

 **From Octavia** : Griffin! How did it go?

 **To Octavia** : She loved it! Thank you so much

 **From Octavia** : I couldn't see you, where were you?

 **To Octavia** : We were kinda late, we had to sit in the back rows, but we didn't miss anything

 **From Octavia** : Mmmh, look at you two already getting it on and arriving late

 **To Octavia** : I will murder you, O. She took a bit when I went to pick her up

 **From Octavia** : If you'd let me meet her I'd stop making your life hell, but…

 **To Octavia** : 1) you wouldn't. ever. If anything you'd get worse, if possible 2) it's too soon 3) she's back gotta go, love you

 **From Octavia** : 1) whatevs 2) whatevs 3) love you too

"It was really interesting. And different from anything I've ever seen," Lexa stated as she handed Clarke a milkshake and sat near her. She took it, shoving her phone in her pocket.

"It really is." Clarke agreed, taking a sip. "What character did you like the most?"

"Oh, I really liked that one girl who died halfway through? What a shame,"

"Yes, the head of the clan. You're right, that part is kind of anticlimactic because you expect her to survive, but then she dies and it's... ugh."

"Yeah. Also, the girl who wasn't supposed to exist was a real badass."

Clarke widened her eyes, "Oh my god,"

"What?"

"That was a friend of mine. If she catched you saying that, we both wouldn't hear the end of it." And Clarke was going to make sure that, at least for the moment, she wouldn't.

"Well, she deserves it. I'm pretty picky when it comes to this kind of things, you know."

Clarke smiled, "Good thing my taste is amazing, then. I wouldn't have wanted you to fall asleep on me. _Again_."

"Oh my god, will you let it go already?" Lexa laughed, trying to seem offended. "I'm a hard worker, I don't deserve this."

"Mh, sure you are," Clarke nodded with a smug smirk, "Don't think I missed it when you were about to drop three plates after you tripped on air."

Lexa gaped, "It only happened once!"

"Three plates, Lexa, I don't know here if I can overlook such a thing,"

Lexa clicked her tongue, "You wouldn't be able to do it in your dreams—"

Clarke laughed whole-heartedly, "You blushed so hard, it was really the best thing,"

Lexa rambled about rude costumers, but Clarke wasn't paying attention, too mesmerized by Lexa's gesticulating and weird expressions.

"—not only once, but twice! And he didn't even apologize! You don't even know how costumers—"

"Look at you," Clarke spoke, shaking her head. She was already fond of the girl who defended herself passionately even in the most meaningless of arguments. Clarke bit her lip, still smiling. "Waitress Lexa against the world, with her denim backpack and her weird habit of falling asleep on me on the ride home."

Lexa smiled, her eyes sparkling, and glanced for a second at the backpack in her lap. It was sincere, almost too much. The silence was loaded with something that wasn't tension, something lighter but somehow still solid. Lexa blinked once, her eyes had returned to look back into Clarke's, and that brought the blonde back to the present.

"Not that I mind," she added, "In the slightest. In fact I kind of like it. Especially the last part. You give off that vibe like you're an undercover heroine trying to keep the status quo."

Lexa raised her eyebrow, "My life seems that boring?"

"No, no, I didn't mean it that way, don't put words in my mouth." Clarke rushed to correct herself, "I mean, it seems that there's a lot more than is shown."

"Oh, there always is. Everybody is interesting in a way,"

"I wanted to say that— you know, you— fuck it. I'm just making an ass of myself." Clarke huffed at the same time Lexa burst into laughter, "I'm gonna quit talking. It's your turn now."

"What am I supposed to say?" Lexa grinned.

"You aren't _supposed_ to say anything. Just say whatever comes to your mind." Clarke stated, folding her arms and putting on an uninterested expression.

Lexa gaped in silence. She knew Clarke was faking being offended, so she decided to play along. "Well, there are a lot of things we could talk about." Lexa started, feigning seriousness, "We could for example focus on the mating cycles of giraffes. I'm not really sure they breed in specific periods of the year, but we could Google it or something. Now, what really interests me is—"

Clarke slowly began laughing, "You're fucking unbelievable,"

"Yes, I am," Lexa sing-songed.

"Let's go somewhere." Clarke proclaimed, "Like, let's take a walk. Or we can go see a movie."

Lexa looked at her watch, "It's kind of late."

"I'll give you a ride back." Clarke assured, "I wasn't gonna leave you like that. Besides, you can fall asleep in my car too."

Lexa huffed a laugh, ignoring Clarke's smirk. She considered it, thinking about Indra. She would be already back home by now, probably waiting for her. She felt a little selfish, but she eventually reasoned that she didn't stay up late on the regular, so maybe she could ask…

"Let me see if I can." Clarke nodded as Lexa dialed Indra's number.

The phone rang four times before Indra picked up, "Alexandria?"

"Indra, hey."

"Hey. What is it? Everything alright?" she sounded a bit concerned, so Lexa didn't waste another second to reassure her.

"Everything's fine, Indra. I was wondering if I could get back a little later than usual?"

"Mh, how much later?" Indra inspected much more relaxed than before, tone turning only a little inquiring.

"An hour, two tops."

"Hon, I'm working tomorrow morning." She sighed, and Lexa could picture her rubbing her own temples.

"Oh," Lexa nodded, already accepting she was going to tell Clarke she needed to be home soon. "Okay."

After a beat of silence, Indra spoke again. "Do you have your keys?"

Lexa frowned, "Yes."

"Then don't be back _too_ late. I'm going to bed in a while, but I will know."

Lexa smiled, taking a mental note that she could somehow bribe Murphy into keeping his mouth shut for once, just in case. "I won't, promise. Sleep well, auntie."

"Goodnight, Lexa." Indra replied softly, closing the call.

Lexa yawned as the both of them walked towards the car. They had decided to take a walk, even though it was quite breezy.

As they walked, they had discussed about the play they had seen, the both of them expressing their opinions on the characters and the story in general. Lexa liked that Clarke didn't immediately try to get her to talk about herself; they had conversation about trivial things. Books, films, funny anecdotes such as that time Clarke was running late to class (and literally running to get there) and spilled an iced tea on an old lady who turned out to be her new teacher. There weren't awkward pauses; or at least, Lexa didn't think of them as awkward. They ended up meeting each other's gaze and holding it with a shy smile and a laugh ready to erupt. Quite far from awkward, if you ask Lexa.

"Ready to get back home?" Clarke asked as she turned the key in the car lock.

Lexa hummed, flashing a slightly spent smile. They were silent for most of the ride, Clarke checking on her once in a while, just to make sure she didn't really doze off in the meantime. As they arrived near her house, she couldn't stop herself from asking. "Did you enjoy the night?"

Lexa's smile stretched lazily, and Clarke felt like smiling too at the sight of it. "Very much."

Lexa still held her smile as she went on, "I'm paying next time."

Clarke didn't expect a kiss, not a proper one. So when Lexa leaned in, Clarke sucked in a deep breath, parting her lips almost on reflex, even with the tiniest bit of hesitancy.

But what came next surprised her even more than a proper kiss would have. Lexa's lips did touch hers, but it was chaste, a minuscule peck on the side of her mouth, just enough to make Clarke shiver a bit.

Lexa's words echoed in her head as the brunette disappeared behind the door of her building, leaving a Clarke unable to stop grinning once again, as she hopped in her car and drove home.


	3. Chapter 3

"Indra, I'm going out."

Her aunt turned, inquiring gaze set on Lexa. "Where are you going?"

"Out with a friend." Lexa said, with a still voice.

"For the fourth time in the last two weeks." Indra turned around, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Is there a limit?" Lexa hoped she sounded convincing enough. In the last month, Clarke and she had been seeing each other, both on the bus and outside. But while Clarke wasn't the exact definition a friend, they weren't at that stage where were they considered it a relationship yet, so Lexa didn't count that as lying when she had talked about Clarke as a new friend.

Indra raised an eyebrow too, "What's their name again?" she asked.

"Clarke."

"Mh." Lexa was tense for a long moment, fearing the inevitable question she sensed Indra was going to ask. Indra had an unreadable expression, something between curiosity and contemplation. "Is she the blonde one?"

Lexa exhaled, "She is. I'm gonna be late, bye." she said as she placed a quick kiss to her aunt's cheek.

As she was near the door, putting on her coat, Murphy appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"People are strange these days."

Lexa jumped a little, cursing under her breath. "Weren't you studying in your room, Murphy?"

"Do you usually go on romantic dates with all of your friends?"

"Mind your own business."

He smirked, "Have a good time."

"Thanks." And she was out the door as fast as she could.

"O-ren Ishi is _the_ badass, dude."

"I agree!" Lexa shouted excitedly from where she was perched o n the end of the couch. I could watch a four hour long film about Cottonmouth."

Clarke smiled, finally finished with slicing the pizza, "I am kinda sad they didn't do a sequel,"

"Who isn't, Kill Bill is probably everybody's favorite film."

It was incredible how Lexa found herself to be so comfortable around Clarke. They seemed to always have something to share with each other, something Lexa deemed to be a rare thing.

Clarke brought Lexa her plate and sat near her, biting her pepperoni pizza with an exaggerated moan. "Oh god, it's been too long,"

Lexa laughed, eyeing her amusedly, "It shows."

Clarke rolled her eyes, "Don't judge my love for pizza, I'm serious."

"Not judging. Just noting for future reference and possibly as blackmailing material."

" _As if_. All of my friends know I'm a pig," Clarke said with a shrug.

"You're not that much of a pig," Lexa laughed again.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything." She sneered, "I'm just behaving because it's you." But after a moment, she grimaced. "Also I shouldn't have told you that."

Lexa smiled around her second slice, as Clarke spoke on. "But now that we are here, actually you should know. My best friends say I'm a fucking pig too, and I'm mostly ok with it."

"Well, baby pigs are adorable."

"Every animal is adorable as a baby."

"I had a turtle once. It was adorable even as an adult."

"Turtles don't change that much tho."

"They do, it's subtle, but they do."

Clarke raised her eyebrow, feigning interest "Tell me more about it, please."

"There's not much to tell," Lexa laughed, amused. "It was called Yogi. It moved slowly. I lost it at summer camp. I cried for a week."

"I had a cat, Mel. She always attempted to kill every breathing being that crossed her path, humans included. Raven said she tried to suffocate her when she slept at my place a while ago."

Lexa smiled, "Who's Raven?"

"Oh, right. She's one of my friends. Precisely, she's one of the ones who call me a pig." Clarke laughed, shaking her head at the thought. "You will have to meet her someday, she's really the best."

Lexa smiled awkwardly, "You think she would like me?"

"Yeah, of course. They all will like you." Clarke grinned and nodded, apparently convinced. "I like you. Why wouldn't they?"

Lexa repeated those words in her head; she repeated the sincerity of it. Clarke was looking at her with honest wonder in her eyes. How could they not like her, she said. "I don't know. People that care about you can be protective," Lexa offered.

The direction this conversation was taking reminded her of her aunt. But she quickly brushed it off as Clarke spoke on.

"They could be," Clarke stated, pondering. "Ok, they definitely could. I have protective friends. But I am protective just as much, so. Don't worry. Besides, we can take things slow, no need to think about it now."

Lexa nodded, agreeing, a soft smile spreading on her lips. Clarke beamed, "Come here."

Lexa got up and got closer to Clarke, deciding to sit in Clarke's lap. Clarke hugged her from behind, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Thank you for the night, I had fun."

"Next time we're seeing volume two," Lexa smiled, "Now that I know you're a fan, we must watch all of Tarantino's films."

Clarke laughed, her face lighting up and making Lexa smile even wider than before. "Of course, I was counting on that."

Lexa shoved her hands in her pockets, rocking on her heels. Clarke hummed, looking up. The night was rather cloudy; she could see a mist slowly floating in front of the moon, its pale light faintly shining behind it. She might have heard a cricket chirping.

She was ready to call it a night, when she suddenly found Lexa in her personal space. The brunette was looking at her directly in her eyes. Clarke gaped just a bit, blown away by the clearness of their blue. She could barely hear herself breathe, her head filled with a million different voices, screaming at her to do something and do nothing at all. So she just waited, and she didn't mean to look down at Lexa's lips, but she did anyway. Chapped and pink, slightly parted, so full and quivering almost invisibly.

Her eyes shot up again, Lexa's own hadn't left her face. "So," Clarke swallowed her throat suddenly dry. She cleared her throat, feeling that if she said anything now, the moment would be ruined.

Lexa hummed, nodding slowly. "I think," she began. Clarke was pretty sure she was whispering, but to her it felt like shouting. "We should really, really kiss."

Clarke's breath catched in her throat, but before she could muster up a reaction, she felt Lexa's hand, gentle but firm on the back of her neck. Lexa surged forward, immediately capturing her upper lip between her own lips. Her tongue smoothed over Clarke's, eliciting a whimper from her. She was probably blushing, but she was too distracted by the sound of their lips smacking to care. Her mouth was warm with Lexa's breath, with her tongue, while everything around her seemed to be cold.

Clarke felt her insides boiling as Lexa parted just a bit only to bump Clarke's nose with her own, a gesture so affectionate, it might even be worse than the kiss itself. Clarke felt her heart pounding in her chest, and she was almost frightened by it.

She didn't want to open her eyes just yet, so she kept them shut for a second, before forcing herself to. She was met with the sight of Lexa's half-lidded eyes, probably as blown out as hers, staring hungrily at her lips. Her stomach did a back-flip, and as she tried to steal another kiss.

But Clarke was quicker, placing a smallest peck on her lips. Lexa pulled back, still dazed from it all to show any evident emotion.

"This time, it's my turn to leave you hanging." Clarke all but breathed, watching as Lexa gawked, astounded. "Well, kind of, at least." She added, with a shrug.

Lexa's gape turned slowly in a half smirk, and Clarke grinned proudly.

"I'll text you," she called out before turning on her heels and marching towards the car.

"John!" he heard his aunt calling him out from the living room.

"What?" he yelled back, hoping he wouldn't have to get up from his warm bed.

Silence. He hated it when she did that. A couple minutes passed before she called him again, and this time he got up, rolling his eyes and knowing that if he didn't he'd be met with Indra's rage. And he'd been there enough times to think twice about it.

He walked in the room, seeing Indra reading a book on the couch. When she heard him come in, she didn't look up. "Come here." She patted the seat next to her. Curious, Murphy approached her, taking the seat. "Did you need something?"

Indra composedly closed the book, turning to look at him with a calm expression. So he wasn't in any trouble, at least. "I wanted to ask you something."

Making sure wouldn't hurt, though. "What did I do?"

Indra blinked at him. "You're innocent, this time."

Murphy feigned relief, wiping a hand on his forehead and whistling, "Oh, thank god."

Indra made a face, shaking her head, but fondness was clear in her eyes. "It's about your sister."

Murphy perked up at that. This was his moment. "What did she do?"

"That's what I intended to ask." Indra stated, "She and that Clarke girl. What are they doing?" she sounded honestly curious.

Murphy smirked, readjusting himself to look at his aunt more comfortably. "I don't know much, to be honest."

Indra raised her eyebrow, "You know, I live in this house." She tilted her head expectantly.

Murphy grinned sheepishly, "Alright. But what's in it for me?"

Indra furrowed her brows, "I feed you."

Murphy stared at her blankly. He needed to lay his cards on the table. "Can I go to Cali with Mbege next summer?"

Indra squinted his eyes, "Who's Mbege?"

"Other John, auntie." Murphy informed.

Indra had a considering look, which had Murphy internally cheering already. "We'll see." Of course.

"Awesome." Murphy beamed contentedly, "Anyway, for what I gathered from Anya, Lexa has a crush on the princess. I don't know much else, really."

Indra hummed, pondering. The boy had already gone, probably off to tell Mbege they were spending the summer holidays together. Now, they really weren't, but Indra wasn't going to crush his hopes just yet.

She picked her book up, but she still thought about Lexa. Little Lexa that didn't talk to her when she arrived at her house at age seven. Little Lexa that cheered when she told her she was going to have another kid to play with. Little Lexa who threw a baseball ball at John when he pushed Costia down the slide while she was distracted. Little Lexa wasn't little Lexa anymore, and it was more and more evident with every day.

She opened her book, a fond smile on her face, and kept on reading.

"So," Indra sat on the couch, not quite near Lexa. "How are you?"

Lexa stopped typing on her laptop, slowly turning to look at her aunt. "Good." It sounded almost as a question, but Lexa wasn't able to keep the worry out of her voice.

Indra looked at her silently, her expression undecipherable as always. Lexa was tempted to just leave her be, but she knew she had to face this at one point.

She and Clarke had been going out together for almost two months now, and they still hadn't told anyone. Lexa had been mindless when she had told Anya. She had let Murphy figure it out.

"Why?" she asked in a small, voice, waiting for the fatal words.

"I've been told things."

"What did Murphy tell you?" she sighed, already plotting ways of making him regret it.

Indra grinned, laughing a bit. "So, this friend of yours, Clarke. Tell me about her."

Lexa felt her stomach turn, and she wasn't able to tell if she was about to puke from the pressure or if it was just the thought of Clarke who had that effect on her. Yeah, she was still in that stage.

"We… spend time together." She gulped, "And it's nice."

"Mh," Indra hummed, "Go on."

"Indra." She closed her eyes.

"I want to hear you say it, girl." Her aunt stated, serious.

"Come on, you already have—"

"Have I already? No, I haven't. Let me hear it."

Lexa closed her laptop, sighing heavily. "Indra, can it wait?"

Indra looked at her, this time with a soft yet amused gaze. "When is she coming to pick you up?"

"We canceled today; she had to study for a test."

The woman got up, "Ok, then. Next time, we'll all be eating together." And with that, she was out of the living room, leaving Lexa to panic alone.


	4. Chapter 4

"Lexa?" The girl in question grimaced, a million apologies ready to roll out of her mouth. "What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I… I know. But I needed to talk to you."

Anya kept staring at her with an exasperated frown, wondering what reason could possibly bring Lexa Woods in front of her door at eight a.m. of all hours. She shook herself out of her considerations, shuddering a bit as the cold morning air hit her. "Come on in, quick."

Lexa hurried in as Anya closed the door, and she noticed that the blonde girl was still wearing her pajamas; and while she had come to her for a rather serious matter, she couldn't help it when an amused smirk formed on her lips at the sight of baby blue giraffes with party hats on Anya's pajamas top.

Anya noticed, pursing her lips in annoyance, "Have you come all the way here to make fun of my nightwear?"

Lexa shrugged, "Now that I'm seeing it, I might consider doing so,"

Anya clicked her tongue, turning to escort Lexa in her kitchen, while she finished eating her breakfast.

As she ate, Lexa sat across from her, staring as she audibly chewed on her food. "What?" she said, around her blueberry pancake.

"Nothing. You're just as much of an animal as I imagined,"

"It's champions' breakfast, you wouldn't understand," Anya rolled her eyes, still talking with her mouth full. At Lexa's raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes again, sighing. "Whatever. In the meantime you can tell me what is it you want to tell me."

Lexa nodded, "Ok." She began, "This may be really boring and you will most likely yell at me."

"So it's about Clarke."

"It is about Clarke." Lexa grimaced as Anya gazed at the ceiling as if she was asking it to give her the necessary strength.

"Girl. Why can't you just do a thing without questioning yourself three hundred damn times?"

Lexa whined, "This time is important, I swear."

Anya threw a blank stare at her, but as she shook her head she gestured for her to go on, "I'm listening."

Lexa inhaled deeply with a pained expression, "Indra wants her to have dinner with us."

And for a moment, Anya was actually thrown off. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Lexa confirmed, somewhere between cautious and worried.

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Two months, give or take?"

"And how is it going?"

"It's good, I think?"

"You think." Anya stated.

"I know, I mean. It's good."

"So you like her."

"Yes, of course." Lexa replied with the slightest hint of question in her voice.

"Like, _like_ her." Anya stressed. Oh, the girl could really be dense sometimes.

Lexa's eyes grew a bit wider, her cheeks turning rosy. She seemed to be hesitating, but she recovered quickly, "Yes. I like her." And Anya could see it was a revelation for Lexa herself.

"And have you told her?"

This time, Lexa's eyes widened dramatically, making Anya frown. "It's way too soon to— you know, to tell such things,"

Anya's frown deepened, "So you plan on surprising her?"

"What? No." Lexa's confusion was clear, and it was far too early in the morning for Anya to deal with this.

"Are you planning on telling her that auntie dear has decided to feast merrily together and everything after?"

" _Oh_ ," Lexa finally catched up, "Yes, of course. It's why I'm here, actually."

Anya nodded, "I imagined."

"I don't know how to ask her."

"Lexa, you two used to use each other as a pillow on a bus. This isn't the most awkward situation she and you have faced, come on."

"I know," Lexa drew out, exasperated, "It just feels too soon, everything is too soon,"

"Normal humans usually tend to inform their loved ones about new relationship they mean to maintain."

Lexa fixated her gaze on the floor, feeling some sort of déjà vù, the same sensation of either an impending blow-up or maybe the best event of her life up to now coming her way.

"Of course with you I can't use normal people parameters, how silly of me." Anya shook her head, "Just go for the usual. Would you like to come to dinner with me? And my aunt and sort of step-brother? At my house?"

Lexa grimaced, and Anya quickly realized how her words sounded, "I'll rephrase. My family would like to meet you—"

"The fact is I don't know if she knows they don't know. Well, didn't. Or more exactly, pretended not to."

"So ask her!" insisted Anya, "Here is what you're gonna do. You casually ask her if she told her parents, friends or whatever about you two. Then if she says yes, you tell her you just told Indra too, and that she'd like to officially meet her. If she says no, well… you tell her that Indra just found out and if she's okay with it, she wants to have dinner together. Not hard and not weird at all, I assure you."

"Okay." Lexa listened carefully, coming to the conclusion that she was going to go through that dinner no matter what. "What if she says no?"

Anya scrutinized her, "Is it a possibility?"

"I don't know, she could think it's too soon too, I don't want to assume…"

"Well, then… Indra is not gonna take no for long. At one point you'll have to."

"I'm not risking Clarke for a dinner, Anya!"

Anya shook her head, grinning, "You know Indra better than I do, probably. She'll make your life a living hell."

"I know."

"So?"

"I'm gonna ask her, it's not like I have much of a choice, anyway. If she says no I'll come up with something."

"Good luck with that."

"My aunt asked about you." Lexa internally cursed, because she didn't mean to blurt it out this way. She had the whole conversation planned and she ruined it herself, and now she waited for Clarke's reaction.

Clarke turned her head to look at Lexa properly. She had been resting peacefully, sprawled on her sofa and with her head in Lexa's lap, the brunette's fingers softly grazing her hair with her thumb. When she turned, Lexa wore a worried expression that left Clarke rather confused.

"I think she's beginning to suspect things." Lexa mumbled, "She… knows, it's probably best to say."

Clarke sat up, "Are you worried?"

Lexa had been thinking about it since Indra asked her about it, but she still sounded hesitant when she spoke. "Yeah. A little."

Clarke swallowed, and Lexa could see chagrin while she did it. "You don't have to come out for me."

Lexa blinked rapidly, "No, no. That's not it."

"What then?" she saw Clarke inhale and exhale deeply, her eyes full of apprehension, but Lexa couldn't decipher her thoughts.

"I'm gonna go ahead and say it," Lexa began, sensing the worry grow on Clarke's face, "My aunt wants to have dinner together. With you. Us. And my step-brother. At our house. Mine, I mean. If you can't or if you don't feel like it, I can tell her, just say the words."

Clarke had relaxed while Lexa spoke, a smile almost forming on her lips, "I haven't told my mother yet."

"I didn't mean to either, she just came to me and asked about you, I'm sure it was that prick, I'm going to have a word with him as soon as he comes back from that friend of his."

Clarke chuckled, "It's no big deal, why are you so worried?"

"I don't know, it kind of is?" Lexa scratched her head as Clarke leaned comfortably against her. Lexa put her arm around her as she scooted over, appreciating the new-found warmth. "For me, at least. You are the first girl I bring home, Clarke."

"Really?" A huge grin spread on Clarke's face, "It's kinda exciting, though."

"And also possibly life-ending."

"So dramatic, why do you think so?"

"I know Indra. She knows how to embarrass me as all mothers do, even though technically she's not mine. Plus Murphy is my step-brother, you don't want to know."

Clarke laughed, "Well, I'm sure my mother will love you. After Finn and Raven she is basically boyfriend-proof. And girlfriend-proof, of course."

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. You all are gonna be best friends and talk behind my back."

By this point, Clarke threw a fit of laughter, "I can't promise you anything." Lexa rolled her eyes, "And by the way I'm coming. I can't wait to." She finished softly.

Lexa smiled, feeling a little bold, "You will probably have to meet Anya too, at some point. I think she hates me, by now. I've been talking her ears off with stories about you."

"Is she the tall blonde?"

"Yes,"

Clarke smiled as she thought to herself. She was going to meet all of Lexa's most important people, but all of her friends and her mother still didn't know much about her and Lexa. Well, her mother didn't at all, she just knew her name. Amongst her friends, Lexa was known by Octavia as "Clarke's friend", epitome complete with swaggering eyebrows and suggesting smirk. She suspected Octavia had talked about it with the rest of the group, but if they knew, they had been good at hiding it, because Clarke never received a single question about it.

"So, when am I coming to the Woods' household?"

Lexa closed her eyes and nodded.

Lexa closed the door after letting Clarke in. She breathed heavily, feeling nervous even though her girlfriend had tried to calm her down multiple times and she knew it wasn't a life-changing event.

"Lexa, you're giving yourself a heart attack. Calm down, it's no big deal." She stroked Lexa's hair softly.

"I know, it's just I thought we'd have more time."

"It's gonna be okay." She assured, "Besides it's about time, I think. I should let my mom and friends know too."

Lexa nodded silently. Clarke smiled softly, "Can I hug you?"

Lexa swallowed, nodding again as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Clarke's waist, holding tightly onto her. They held each other for long, Clarke drowning in Lexa's orchid scented perfume, the thumping of her heart against her chest. "Calm down." She whispered softly. They parted, and Clarke took her hand, kissing her knuckles. "Let's go."

Still hand in hand, they walked into the kitchen where Indra and Murphy were waiting.

Indra was leaning against the counter, arms crossed over her chest and an expectant expression on her face. Murphy looked up from his phone just in time to see them, smirk already in place.

"Aunt, Murphy," she said, with a little emotion in her voice, "This is Clarke."

Clarke moved immediately, "Pleased to meet you, ma'am," she said, extending her hand to Indra. The woman took it, shaking it fervently.

"Hi, Clarke," she replied with a firm voice. Clarke turned to Murphy, recognizing him from the times she visited the diner. She shook his hand too, slightly put off by the smirk he had been wearing since they entered the room. "You can take your seats, dinner is almost ready."

Lexa had already took Clarke's jacket and pointed to her where to seat as she went to put it on the coat hanger. When she came back into the kitchen, Clarke and Indra were already laughing at something, while Murphy rolled his eyes at them. This was going to be a long dinner.

"Lexa, dear, I was telling Clarke about that that time you tried sneaking out through the window, when we lived near the Ark. Do you remember?" Indra asked, a wide smile spread on her face.

Lexa stared at her, then her gaze shifted to Clarke, who wore an amused grin and was visibly repressing a laugh.

A long, _long_ dinner.


End file.
